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REVIEWS

TECH  SECTOR     

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When I think back to my first studio—where I was surrounded by an ominous wall of keyboards, sound

modules and flashing lights—I can’t help but pat myself on the back for deciding to streamline my setup.

The days of walking into my studio and feeling like I’m starting up a launch sequence for a UFO are a thing

of the past. Instead of navigating a sea of cables, I have simplified my home-studio setup to comprise only

The most obvious difference is that the Xboard line ships with Ableton Live Lite 4, the E-mu Proteus X LE

desktop sound module and the Xboard Control software. This package not only gets you up and running

right away with a great program like Live but also gives you a sound module. For anyone who is a novice at

computer-based music, this package would be ideal to get you started. I must note that the Proteus X LE

software is currently only available for PC users, but, luckily, the control and editing software works on both

Mac and PC.

SOMETHING NEW

First, take a minute to get into some of the physical differences between the Xboards and the other controllers

on the market. The E-mu units have 16 rotary-style knobs and one slider. For those who like knobs to tweak,

this is great news; for all of the others who like sliders, you’re out of luck on this one. The main advantages with

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knobs rather than sliders are space and cost. You get

more space, and the price remains on par with other

entry-level MIDI controllers. The next feature that

stands out on the Xboards is aftertouch. If you are a

fan of this fine MIDI function, you will be glad to know

that the Xboards are some of few MIDI controllers that

come with true aftertouch. The nonweighted, full-size

keys have great response and feature E-mu’s synth-

action keybed. To activate aftertouch, just press the

include a 16-channel control mode that allows the

16 knobs to send one CC number each. This allows

you to control the volume or pan of 16 different

MIDI devices on 16 separate MIDI channels. The

Xboards also have the ability to send MIDI CC and

program-change data when recalling a patch. This

function is great for linking a soft-synth patch to one

of the Xboard’s 16 patches. That way, if you have a

virtual synth open and you recall a preset patch on

TWO OF A KIND

The Xboard comes in two sizes: 49 keys and 25

keys. And the only difference between the two ver-

sions is the number of keys. Both have a MIDI Out

port, a USB connection, an on/off switch and a 6V

DC power jack located on the back. Both also have

standard mod and pitch wheels.

All of the back-panel connections are rather stan-

dard, but what did grab my attention was the bat-

tery compartment located underneath the control-

ler. Yes, that’s right: The Xboards can run on just

three AA batteries. Whenever I come across a device

that runs on batteries, my interest is piqued. There’s

something appealing about being able to create

music in any setting, and gear that runs on batter-

ies is just begging to be used anywhere there’s an

audience and anytime you find inspiration. A cool

thing to note about the battery compartment is that

it provides you with three extra spaces to store a full

the software on two computers: an Apple Mac G4/

dual 533MHz, running Mac OS 10.3.8, with 1 GB of

PC, running Windows XP, with 512 MB of RAM. The

sequencing programs I used were Logic Pro 7 for

the Mac and Live Lite (included with both Xboards)

for the PC.

In both of the test situations, neither computer

was loaded to the gills, but I wanted to make sure

both computers was a snap. I simply followed the

install instructions from the manual and finished in

about 10 minutes. The next step was to see if my

sequencing programs recognized the Xboards. In

both cases, Logic and Live were able to recognize

the Xboards via the USB connection.

Now that the software was installed and the con-

troller was working, I wanted to check out the editing

software that is also included. I went to the Xboard

application and ran it to see how the systems would

support running the two applications at the same

time. I’m glad to say that both machines chugged

along happily; I was able to run the Xboard editor

and the sequencing application at the same time

without any major issues. Anytime two programs

If you need a MIDI controller for live performances,

you might want to think about these next features.

Each Xboard has a mode called Knob Bypass that

allows you to move any of the 16 CC knobs without

sending control data to your sequencing program

or MIDI device. This Knob Bypass mode by itself is

not all that cool, but when you put it together with

the Snapshot feature, it proves to be quite powerful.

When pressed, the Snapshot button will send the

current values for all 16 knobs in one shot. So you

can bypass the knobs, change the values and then

unbypass the knobs and press Snapshot to send

all of the new values to the device without missing

a beat. To further test how an Xboard can be use-

ful in a live setup, I tested the 16-channel control

Getting an Xboard to send out the CC numbers on

program recall will take some time depending on

what sequencing program you’re using and what

soft synth you have loaded. For instance, if you want

to send a program change message to a soft synth,

it has to be able to change programs via a program

change message. I found the Native Instruments

Pro-53 works well for this. But rest assured, if you

have any problems, you’re not on your own. The nice

include some useful software—a trend that I hope

will continue. It would be great if manufacturers

started shipping MIDI controllers with full-version

soft synths instead of demos and LE versions. The

advanced MIDI control features on the Xboards

are exciting and provide some insight into what to

expect from future MIDI controllers. Furthermore,

both units were a pleasure to use and actually play.

It almost goes without saying, but there’s just some-

thing about using a keyboard controller that feels

and plays like a real instrument.